1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pannier bags for bicycles, and particularly, to bicycle pannier bags which are aerodynamically shaped to reduce wind drag on an associated bicycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common to arrange bags known as pannier bags on either side of the front and/or rear wheels of a bicycle for the purpose of carrying the gear required by a commuting or touring bicyclist. For years the touring cyclist has had to overcome the drag of peddling a loaded touring bike into a headwind with rectangular touring bags creating unnecessary high wind drag. An example of such bags can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,972, issued Jan. 22, 1974, to H. R. Alley.
While examples of shapes with low aerodynamic drag are numerous, and the advantages of reducing the drag of bicycles are well known, means of achieving such a shape in a lightweight impact resistant bicycle bag with convenient means of access to the interior thereof have been previously unknown.
Another problem encountered with pannier bags of conventional construction is the use of a spring, elastic card, and the like, to secure the bottom of the the lower portion of the rack near the bicycle's axel. These elastic systems permit the bag to flop as the bicycle moves, thus degrading the handling characteristics of the bicycle and, on rough roads, allowing the bag to be thrown from the rack. Examples of means of securing bags to bicycle racks intended to improve upon those problems are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,727, filed May 11, 1976 to Montgomery; Norway Pat. No. 82,437, filed Sept. 14, 1953, to Jensen; Denmark Pat. No. 66,388, filed Mar. 1, 1948 to Janseon; and others. However, these means have not proven to be applicable or effective when used with bicycle racks in common use, especially racks as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,382, filed May 15, 1979 to Blackburn.
An additional problem that arises with regard to the use of pannier bags on touring bicycles is that of access to articles within the bags. Often an article that is desired is in the bottom of a bag, necessitating removal of virtually the entire contents of the bag in order to retrieve the article. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,972 attempts to alleviate this problem by providing a complicated multicompartment bag construction which actually increases aerodynamic drag on an associated bicycle. The use of such compartments, furthermore, tends to be somewhat inflexible and not readily adaptable to the needs of a specific cyclist.
Another problem associated with the use of pannier bags is the packing of bulky items such as clothing. These items, though light weight, take up much volume necessitating larger panniers and even higher aerodynamic drag.